Thursday, March 12, 2015

Oh Canada! The True North Strong and Free - really?

This is about freedom of speech folks. The 40 Days for Life vigil in Montreal has been stopped by two injunctions. Two abortion clinics have brought the court order that legislates a "buffer zone" of one full block.

Essentially, this strips the prayer vigil of its ability to impact anyone accessing the abortion clinic. And anyone seeing someone praying a block away from an abortion clinic will wonder what the heck they are trying to do.

Brian Jenkins who has been leading the vigil there for the 13th time is going to challenge the imposed injunctions. However the earliest court date at which they can state their arguments for the right to be on the sidewalk outside or across from the clinics is June 16th, 2015.

Of course, the vigil will be long over by then. Precisely what the accusers had in mind.

The four plaintiffs were petitioning the court for a buffer zone the size of a square block preventing us from entering and thereby carrying on our work of peaceful prayer vigil and sidewalk counselling.

The plaintiffs were requesting an immediate temporary injunction and secondly, sought to begin a process to establish a permanent injunction.

They justified their request on the basis of the harmful effect we were having on their welfare, and the welfare of their clients.

Is this the harmful effect that they fear their clients might suffer?

Paula and her daughter Maria Monalissa

"Brian Jenkins and other representatives of Quebec Life Coalition have given me furniture, diapers, clothes, basically everything I needed both before and after the birth of my daughter Maria Monalissa."

"Today, I am very happy that QLC was there, across the street from the Morgentaler Clinic on that day in March 2014 where I was going to abort Monalissa. If I hadn’t met them, without a doubt I would have lost my child."